Screen Capture File Format

jbljbl
Posted:
in macOS edited January 2014
TinkerTool used to let you change the file format used when you did a screen capture (shift-command-3 or shift-command-4). At some point I used this to change the format to pdf. Now the option in TinkerTool is greyed out. (I don't know when this happened; with the upgrade to Jaguar I guess.) However, whenever I do a screen capture, it still ends up as pdf. How do I switch it back to tiff? Is there some other way to switch file formats?



Thanks!

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 20
    paulpaul Posts: 5,278member
    use preview to save as and change the format into whatever you want.



    the explanation is on the tinker-tool website



    it happened with the switch to 10.2 when apple got rid of the ability to screen cap in anything other then .pdf
  • Reply 2 of 20
    physguyphysguy Posts: 920member
    Or simply add the extention .tif to the file name and open with your favorite graphics program.
  • Reply 2 of 20
    defiantdefiant Posts: 4,876member
    or use this app and just drag & drop:



    <a href="http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/15682"; target="_blank">DropJPEG</a>
  • Reply 4 of 20
    defiantdefiant Posts: 4,876member
    put a custom icon on it, and give it a new name:



  • Reply 5 of 20
    jbljbl Posts: 555member
    [quote]Originally posted by physguy:

    <strong>Or simply add the extention .tif to the file name and open with your favorite graphics program.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    That is cool but I don't really understand. So can I just change the extension to any tif file to pdf and suddenly it is a pdf? Presumably it doesn't work the other way around unless the file was originally a tif?
  • Reply 6 of 20
    defiantdefiant Posts: 4,876member
    [quote]Originally posted by JBL:

    <strong>So can I just change the extension to any tif file to pdf and suddenly it is a pdf? Presumably it doesn't work the other way around unless the file was originally a tif?</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Nope. It doesn't work like that. That would be like if you take a $1 bill and write two zeros more on it, it doesn't change to $100...



    [ 03-13-2003: Message edited by: Defiant ]</p>
  • Reply 7 of 20
    drewpropsdrewprops Posts: 2,321member
    Yes, that would be a MAGICAL computer if you could do that.
  • Reply 8 of 20
    code mastercode master Posts: 344member
    though some apps (like Graphic converter) are smart enough to look at the file content and not the extension so it can open mislabelled files. Not magical, just well programmed (though it should alert you to the fact that it's misnamed)
  • Reply 9 of 20
    jbljbl Posts: 555member
    Well now I am really confused. I did what physguy suggested and took one of the pdfs I created by doing a screen capture and just changed the extension to tif. With the extension pdf, Quicktime refuses to open it. With the extension tif Quicktime opens it fine. On the other hand, I don't seem to be able to find anything that can open pdfs but cannot open tifs (that have had there extension changed to pdf).



    This seems to imply that .tif files are a subtype of pdf files (sort of like .c files are a subtype of .txt files). Are there applications that will open pdfs but will not open a tif file whose extension has been switched to pdf?
  • Reply 10 of 20
    aquaticaquatic Posts: 5,602member
    The thing I hate about PDF is that everyone uses it for everything. It's huge and ugly and stupid for most things..like screenshots. U. RI makes us download the Dining Services hours of operation in PDF when it would save two minutes just posting it on the site..grr I have to download that PDF weekly. What's the point of PDF outside making magazines etc.
  • Reply 11 of 20
    defiantdefiant Posts: 4,876member
    [quote]Originally posted by Aquatic:

    <strong>What's the point of PDF outside making magazines etc.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    It's Cross-Platform and Secure.
  • Reply 12 of 20
    torifiletorifile Posts: 4,024member
    [quote]Originally posted by Aquatic:

    <strong>The thing I hate about PDF is that everyone uses it for everything. It's huge and ugly and stupid for most things..like screenshots. U. RI makes us download the Dining Services hours of operation in PDF when it would save two minutes just posting it on the site..grr I have to download that PDF weekly. What's the point of PDF outside making magazines etc.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    What, Defiant said. And you don't need to worry about formatting. And you don't need to worry about tampering (I guess that's what D meant by secure). And it's not tied to a properitary program. It's great.
  • Reply 13 of 20
    physguyphysguy Posts: 920member
    [quote]Originally posted by JBL:

    <strong>Well now I am really confused. I did what physguy suggested and took one of the pdfs I created by doing a screen capture and just changed the extension to tif. With the extension pdf, Quicktime refuses to open it. With the extension tif Quicktime opens it fine. On the other hand, I don't seem to be able to find anything that can open pdfs but cannot open tifs (that have had there extension changed to pdf).



    This seems to imply that .tif files are a subtype of pdf files (sort of like .c files are a subtype of .txt files). Are there applications that will open pdfs but will not open a tif file whose extension has been switched to pdf?</strong><hr></blockquote>



    The screen save is in tiff format. Acrobat will open a tiff file therefore screen save puts it in pdf format. OTOH by changing the suffix to .tif it just allows graphics programs to try and open it, they then recognize that it is a tiff file and go forward.
  • Reply 14 of 20
    jaredjared Posts: 639member
    [quote]Originally posted by Aquatic:

    <strong>What's the point of PDF outside making magazines etc.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Last thing you want to do is send your resume over via Word and have the chance of incompatibility but also them altering your resume!



    Just one of the many resons why I love PDF.
  • Reply 15 of 20
    aquaticaquatic Posts: 5,602member
    So it's really .tiff? that's cool.
  • Reply 16 of 20
    jbljbl Posts: 555member
    Thanks for the help!
  • Reply 17 of 20
    buonrottobuonrotto Posts: 6,368member
    We use PDF for archiving and sharing architectural drawings -- so consultants can't tamper with our stuff, but can print them out or even makr them up. We also combine a lot of different media into one multi-page PDF form so it's a one-stop shop for info we can send to people or use for our own reference. It's best used for media stuff, lot of different images, fonts, etc. in a single layout.
  • Reply 18 of 20
    chuckerchucker Posts: 5,089member
    [quote]Originally posted by physguy:

    <strong>The screen save is in tiff format.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    I don't know what made you think so.



    I just hit Shift-Cmd-3 and opened the file in TextEdit.



    The first line happens to be "%PDF-1.3"



    If that isn't PDF 1.3, I'm gonna eat my cellphone (which is old. Very old.)



    Renaming it to "%filename%.tif" won't do anything but keep you from opening it in apps that look at the extension.



    Open the file in Preview or GraphicConverter, convert it, and you're done.



    Oh and just for the record for "PDF is a waste of space" people:



    Picture 1.pdf 741.8 KB

    Picture 1.jpeg 570.7 KB

    Picture 1.tiff 1 MB

    Picture 1.gif 180.2 KB (Note that GIF is limited to 256 colors and is really the ABSOLUTELY WRONG format for screenshots)

    Picture 1.png 680.7 KB

    Picture 1.bmp 0 bytes (Wonderful compression there, Microsoft. Actually, Path Finder's integrated conversion mechanism repeatedly failed with this one.)



    Seeing as PDF transmits additional metadata (as it's meant for documents, see second initial), its compression isn't that bad, compared to JPEG and PNG, no?



    And I've always found TIFF useless , whilst I happen to be a fan of PNG / MNG / JNG.
  • Reply 19 of 20
    chuckerchucker Posts: 5,089member
    I just tried with BMP in Preview: 2.3 MB

    JPEG 2000: 761 KB

    PICT: 891.6 KB

    Photoshop: 1.1 MB

    QTIF: 3 MB

    SGI: 1.1 MB

    TGA / Targa: 1.4 MB



    All with maximum quality.
  • Reply 20 of 20
    brother_mayabrother_maya Posts: 10member
    Usually, when I need to take a screenshot, I use Snapz Pro. It might be overkill for you, but it will get the job done.



    Taken from http://www.ambrosiasw.com/utilities/snapzprox/.



    Quote:

    Snapz Pro X supports saving screen images as .bmp, .pict, .gif, .jpg, .png, .tiff, .pdf, or Photoshop files, and can even record the action as a QuickTime movie!



    Having been a registered user for many years, I recommend it highly.
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